• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.805-813
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• 1994

Immunohistochemical study on the intestinal tissues obtained from the 21 pigs of the 14 terms in Korea in which the clinical and epidemiological features had indicated the possible outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea(PED) was performed using the indirect immunofluorescence test and/or the immunoperoxidase method in order to detect PED viral antigens in the infected cells of the intestines, and histopathological features were described as well. By immunohistochemical analysis, PED viral antigens were detected in the epithelial cells covering the small intestinal villi and recognized slightly in the cells lining the colonic surface epithelium as well. Occasional fluorescence was also seen in a few intestinal crypt epithelium. On light microscopy, the piglets with PED showed marked villous atrophy and fusion, and severe enterocyte degeneration and desquamation. On the other hand, the older pigs more than 4 week old age was mild villous atrophy and fusion, severe villous epithelial cell proliferation, and moderate mononuclear cell infiltration.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.440-452
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• 2007

The low feed intake immediately after weaning is responsible for villous atrophy and reduced growth rate in newly-weaned pigs. Overcoming this drawback will produce beneficial results for swine producers, and this warrants an understanding of the factors affecting the feed intake in newly-weaned pigs. In fact, a plethora of factors exert influences on feed intake in newly-weaned pigs, and these factors encompass health status, creep feeding, weaning age, mixing of litters, environment, dietary nutrient level and balance, palatability of ingredients, forms of diet presentation, water supply and quality, and stockmanship. Due to the complexity of the factors that affect the feed intake of weaned pigs, a comprehensive approach should be adopted to overcome the low feed intake problem right after weaning. It warrants mention that it is almost impossible to completely restore the feed intake just after weaning to pre-weaning level in terms of energy intake through dietary means which are available for being practiced economically and/or technically in current swine production. However, a refined dietary regime will certainly alleviate the low feed intake problem in the immediate postweaning period.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2001

The intestinal histopathology and in situ postures of Gymnophalloides seoi (Digenea: Gymnophallidae) were studied using C3H/HeN and C57BL/6 mice as experimental hosts; the effects of immunosuppression were also observed. The metacercariae isolated from naturally infected oysters, 300 or 1,000 in number, were infected orally to each mouse, and the mice were killed at days 3-21 post-infection (PI). In immunocompetent (IC) mice, only a small number of flukes were found in the mucosa of the duodenum and jejunum during days 3-7 PI, with their large oral suckers pinching and sucking the root of villi. The intestinal mucosa showed mild villous atrophy crypt hyperplasia, and inflammations in the villous stroma and crypt, with remarkable goblet cell hyperplasia. These mucosal changes were almost restored after days 14-21 PI. In immunosuppressed (IS) mice. displacement as well as complete loss of villi adjacent to the flukes was frequently encountered, otherwise the histopathology was generally mild, with minimal goblet cell hyperplasia. In these mice, numerous flukes were found, and it seemed that they were actively moving and rotating in situ. Several flukes were found to have invaded into the submucosa, almost facing the serosa. These results indicate that in IC mice the intestinal histopathology caused by G. seoi is generally mild, and the flukes do not penetrate beyond the mucosa, however, in IS mice. the flukes can cause severe destruction of neighboring villi. and some of them invade into the submucosa.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.30.1-30.11
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• 2021

From April 2014 to September 2015, 153 piglets from 52 farms in Jeju were diagnosed with porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). The major PED cases were focused on suckling piglets (144 piglets, 94.1%), particularly in 1-7-day-old piglets. Histopathologically, severe villous atrophy was observed in the small intestine, especially in the jejunum and ileum. The mean villous height to crypt depth ratios of the jejunum and ileum were 1.4:1 and 1.5:1, respectively. The major histopathologic findings of the small intestine were cytoplasmic vacuolation, cuboidalization, squamation, and exfoliation of the mucosal enterocytes in the villi. The cytoplasmic vacuolations in the enterocytes were the most prevalent lesions in the small intestine and were more severe in the ileum than in the jejunum. According to immunohistochemistry methods, the PED virus (PEDV) antigens were presented in the cytoplasms of the enterocytes, and were distributed more prevalently in the ileum than in the jejunum. PEDV antigens were also detected in the colon of 26 piglets (19.5%). Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis indicated that 12 PEDV had more than a 98.9% homology with each other. These PEDV strains were highly homologous with the genogroup 2 North American group.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 1990

Intestinal histopathological changes due to infection with Echinostcma hortense (Trematoda) were studied in rats after experimental infection with the metacercariae. The metacercariae were obtained from the tadpoles of Rana nigrcmaculata, a second intermediate host infected in the laboratory. Total 18 albino rats(Sprague-Dawley) were given 200 matacercariae each and sacrificed on the day 1, 3, 7, 11, 22 or 44 post-infection(PI) Segments of- the small intestine at 1, 3, 5, 8 and 30 cm posterior to the pylorus(PTP) were rejected and studied histopathologically. 1. The flukes were seen to have intruded into the intervillous space in the upper small intestine at early stages(1∼3 days PI), however, they were located mainly in the intestinal lumen at later stages(7∼44 days PI) . The flukes were sucking and destroying the epithelial layers of villi with their oral and ventral suckers. 2. Histopathological changes of the intestine were recognizable in as early as 1∼3 days after infection, and the changes became severer as the infection progressed. 3. The intestinal mucosa was histopathologically characterized by villous atrophy and crypt hyperplasia throughout the infection period. Major villous changes were blunting, fusion, severe destruction and loss of epithelial layers of villi. Villous/crypt(V/C) height ratio was remarkably reduced from 3 : 1 in controls to 1 : 1 in severely infected animals. In the stroma of villi, inaamma- tory cell infiltrations, vascular congestion, edema, and/or fibrosis were recognized. The goblet cells were increased in number after 11 days PI. It was revealed in the present study that the pathological changes in the intestine of rats infected with E. hortense were chieay confined to the mucosal layer of the upper small intestine, however, the changes were very severe accompanying remarkable destruction of villi and loss of mucosal integrity, and persistent until 44 days PI.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.107-116
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• 1998

Twelve colostrum-deprived piglets were inoculated oral1y with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus isolated from Korea. The piglets were euthanatized from at 12 hour postinoculation(PI) at 6-hour intervals. At 24 to 36 hours PI, all infected piglets showed severe yellowish to watery diarrhea, dehydration, depression, and anorexia. At necropsy, the intestinal wall looked thin, mesenteric vessels congested, and mesenteric lymph nodes edematous. The histological findings showed marked villous atrophy and fusion, severe degeneration of enterocytes and monomuclear cell infiltration in the lamina propria. On electron microscopy, villous epithelial cells of infected jejunum contained viral particles at 18 hour PI. The viral particles were pleomorphic spheres with a mean diameter of 95∼180nm including 18nm projections.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a subsequent infection of PCV2 on piglets with PEDV. In clinical signs, the signs observed in dual-infected with PEDV and PCV2 piglets and alone infected with PEDV piglets ranged from diarrhoea to vomiting and dehydration. Dual-infected piglets developed signs of anorexia, vomiting and watery diarrhoea within 12 hpi. Nevertheless alone -infected piglets caused pasty diarrhea at first. In mortality, dual infections showed 25%, but alone -infections showed 8.3%, respectively. In gross findings, piglets dual-infected with PEDV and PCV2 appeared the severe findings of congestion, distension of lumen, milder curdes of undigested milk in stomach than those of single-infected piglets. In histopathological findings, piglets of dual-infection group appeared the more severe findings of villous atrophy and fusion, congesion, exfoliation, vacuolation, squamation, loss of cilia and proliferation of crypt. Significant (P<0.05) decrease in VH:CD ratio in dually infected piglets compared to piglets from alone-PEDV infections. In immunohistochemical findings, strong hybridization signals in dual-infected piglets observed moderate to severe villous atrophy or vacuolation with positive cells arranged continuously over the villi. In the lumen, exfoliated enterocytes were strongly positive in dual-infected piglets. A number of PEDV-positive cells in dual-infected pigs were significantly higher than that in alone PEDV-infected piglets.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 1989

It is well known that the duodenum of mice or rats infected with Fibricoln seoulensis shows atrophy of villi (shortening, blunting, widening, fusion) and hyperplasia of crypts. This study was performed to observe healing process of .these pathological changes after deworming with anthelmintic treatment. Albino rats infected each with.1,000 metacercariae of F. seeulensis were treated with single dose of 10 mg/kg praziquantel on day 15 post·infection. On day 1, 3, 5, 7, 15, 21 and 28 after the treatment, they were sacrificed and their duodenums were histopathologically studied. Control (uninfected) rats showed their normal finger-like projections of duodenal villi and well arranged crypts. In comparison, untreated (infected) contiols revealed severe mucosal changes characteristic of villous atrophy and crypt hyperplasia in their duodenum. The damaged duodenal mucosa was found to restore its normal morphology after praziquantel treatment; until day 3 post-treatment the mucosa was severely atrophied; on day 5 long and slender villi sometimes appeared among the fused and stout ones; after day 15 the villi were in their normalising process. From this experiment, it was shown that the mucosal changes in the duodenum of rats caused by F. seoulensis infection were completely reversible in 21∼28 days after anthelmintic treatment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.35-44
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• 1999

The morphologic changes of small intestinal epithelium in pigs diagnosed as porcine epidemic diarrhea(PED} by virus isolation and immunohistochemistry were studied through light microscope and transmissible electron microscope. On semi-thin section, the histologic findings showed severe villous atrophy and fusion with hyperplasia of cuboidal epithelium in the villi, inflammatory cell infiltration in lamina propria, and increased mitotic figures in the crypt. The structural changes were mostly restricted to the cytoplasm of affected absorptive epithelium of villi. 3 types of epithelial changes were found; degenerated virus-affected cells, undifferentiated cuboidal cells, and normal columnar cells. On electron microscopy, round to spherical viral particles of 50∼l00nm in diameter were found within the dilated vesicles and endoplasmic reticulums of degenerated cells, which had decreased their cytoplasmic electron density due to dilated and missing organelles(e.g. mitochondria, ERs, etc.). Microvilli were shortened and sparse, leaving denuded terminal web of the villous epithelial cells. Fat globules were often found within slightly degenerated enterocytes. On the tip of villi, severely damaged cells were exfoliated and replaced by undifferentiated cuboidal cells We found distinct ultrastructural changes in the jejunal epithelium confirming PED virus infection is involved in malabsorptive diarrhea.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1742-1750
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• 2015

As a novel approach for disease control and prevention, nutritional modulation of the intestinal health has been proved. However, It is still unknown whether branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is needed to maintain intestinal immune-related function. The objective of this study was to determine whether BCAA supplementation in protein restricted diet affects growth performance, intestinal barrier function and modulates post-weaning gut disorders. One hundred and eight weaned piglets ($7.96{\pm}0.26kg$) were randomly fed one of the three diets including a control diet (21% crude protein [CP], CON), a protein restricted diet (17% CP, PR) and a BCAA diet (BCAA supplementation in the PR diet) for 14 d. The growth performance, plasma amino acid concentrations, small intestinal morphology and intestinal immunoglobulins were tested. First, average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.05) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (p<0.05) of weaned pigs in PR group were lower, while gain:feed ratio was lower than the CON group (p<0.05). Compared with PR group, BCAA group improved ADG (p<0.05), ADFI (p<0.05) and feed:gain ratio (p<0.05) of piglets. The growth performance data between CON and BCAA groups was not different (p>0.05). The PR and BCAA treatments had a higher (p<0.05) plasma concentration of methionine and threonine than the CON treatment. The level of some essential and functional amino acids (such as arginine, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamine etc.) in plasma of the PR group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the CON group. Compared with CON group, BCAA supplementation significantly increased BCAA concentrations (p<0.01) and decreased urea concentration (p<0.01) in pig plasma indicating that the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization was increased. Compared with CON group, the small intestine of piglets fed PR diet showed villous atrophy, increasing of intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs) number (p<0.05) and declining of the immunoglobulin concentration, including jejunal immunoglobulin A (IgA) (p = 0.04), secreted IgA (sIgA) (p = 0.03) and immunoglobulin M (p = 0.08), and ileal IgA (p = 0.01) and immunoglobulin G (p = 0.08). The BCAA supplementation increased villous height in the duodenum (p<0.01), reversed the trend of an increasing IELs number. Notably, BCAA supplementation increased levels of jejunal and ileal immunoglobulin mentioned above. In conclusion, BCAA supplementation to protein restricted diet improved intestinal immune defense function by protecting villous morphology and by increasing levels of intestinal immunoglobulins in weaned piglets. Our finding has the important implication that BCAA may be used to reduce the negative effects of a protein restricted diet on growth performance and intestinal immunity in weaned piglets.